The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Gohrischheide und Elbniederterrasse Zeithain

Beautiful rose garden, definitely worth a visit. The café is open on certain days.

Those who love nature and seek relaxation can find peace here whatever the weather. (10°C feels like a 5° northerly wind)

The garrison administration building at the Zeithain military training area dates back to 1893/94. It is one of ten preserved buildings from the active period of the area, which once housed more than 200 structures. In 1873, two years after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the Imperial Military Administration took over the "Zeithain Artillery Firing Range" of the Royal Saxon Army and declared it a "military training area" of the German Empire in 1895.

The Officials' Residence III on the grounds of the Zeithain military training area was built in 1913 and 1914.

Zeithain was home to one of Germany's oldest military training areas. The area was first used for training exercises in 1730 during the "Zeithain Pleasure Camp" by the Saxon army under Elector Augustus the Strong. In 1873, an artillery firing range was established for the Dresden garrison of the Saxon army. The training area was expanded in several stages in 1879, 1892, and 1899 to an area of almost 100 square kilometers. From 1920 to 1937, the military training area was largely demilitarized. Only the filling and ammunition plant, later the Army Ammunition Plant (Muna), remained until 1937. On April 1, 1937, the military training area was re-established. Starting in 1941, Soviet prisoners of war were used for forced labor. On April 23, 1945, Soviet troops occupied the area. From 1953 to 1956, the military training area was initially used by the Soviet Army, from 1956 to 1992 by the National People's Army, and from 1992 to 1997 by the German Armed Forces. In 2007, the military training area was abandoned and converted into the "Gohrischheide and Elbniederterrassen" nature reserve.

The work command barracks were built in 1913 and 1914. It was last used until 1992 as barracks for the 216th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment of the CIS troops (formerly the Soviet Army). The 9th Panzer Division was also stationed in Zeithain, with the subordinate units of the 1st Guards Tank Regiment "G.I. Kotovsky," the 70th Bobrusk Guards Tank Regiment, and the 308th Artillery Brigade. The National People's Army (NVA) of the GDR used the site until 1991 with the following units: Pioneer Battalion 11, Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment 7 "Paul Rockstroh," Tank Workshop and Equipment Depot 13, and Missile Division 7 "Alfred Kurella."

Large parts of the former Zeithain military training area were abandoned by the German Armed Forces in 2007 and rededicated as the "Gohrischheide and Elbe Lower Terraces" nature reserve. Many paths here are lined with avenue trees, including the main axis, the former "Kaiser Wilhelm Avenue." Leaving the designated paths is strongly discouraged, as the site still contains significant amounts of military equipment and unexploded bombs. The Saxon police's explosive ordnance disposal service maintains a station here.

"Mother Russia," also called "Motherland," is the national personification of Russia. The allegory of this "babushka" was already used in the Tsarist era. When the Russian Empire became the multi-ethnic Soviet Union, Soviet propaganda repurposed the metaphor into "Motherland." Statues depicting "Motherland" were erected in honor of the Soviet armed forces. This is also the case here in Zeithain.